It was dark outside. The wind howled through the night, and a deep voice spoke.
"Lorian, even though we don't agree, I need you to fight with me."
Lorian looked at the man. His short black hair was blowing in the wind. His eyes, as dark as a well's bottom, held a deep, empty void. His eyes showed a tiredness that seemed to come from another time.
The mysterious man took a step forward, and his voice echoed again. "If you're not with me, I might lose this battle. If I lose, my race will perish, and yours will too. Destroying me will not be enough for them. They want to destroy everything that is mine and yours, our legacies, even our echoes."
Lorian watched him in silence. He had the feeling he was about to make a decision. But then the world around him began to change. The ground where Lorian stood trembled, the sky twisted, and suddenly a vast battlefield appeared before him.
There were thousands of people in front of him. They wore different types of armor and carried different weapons. They were all very different from each other. Some looked like they were from ancient times, while others looked like they were from the modern world. Some held blood-red swords, while others wielded staff-like weapons glowing with runes.
At that moment, a deep echo could be heard. The battlefield hummed. Echoes and howls mixed together. Then, chains of flame, giant spears of ice, and endless swords rose from the shadows and attacked Lorian.
But Lorian did not panic. He wasn't scared. Attacks like these couldn't hurt him. His eyes blinked slightly, and his senses flickered.
As the attacks came at him, Lorian raised his hand, and suddenly a terrible echo reverberated across the battlefield. The wind howled louder, almost as if nature itself was trembling with fear. It was as if the wind didn't want to be there. It was trying to escape.
Then the ground shook violently. The ground split, and the rock floor started to crack. This was more than just physical destruction. Echoes from the ground reminded them of the past, and they started to run away from Lorian. It was as if they had a mind of their own and wanted to get away from him. They knew Lorian was the only one who could destroy them.
The people in front of him couldn't understand why the Echoes wouldn't attack. They couldn't attack Lorian because their own Echoes wouldn't allow it. The Echoes recognized his power. Lorian's rule was beyond their existence.
Suddenly, there was a powerful explosion of esensia on the battlefield. Time stopped. Everything suddenly stopped. Enemies, attacks, echoes, buzzing, explosions. Even the leaves falling from the trees hung in the air.
Lorian started to go towards the people who had attacked him. He controlled thousands of them and cut them in two. The armies moving to the left and right looked very scared. Lorian walked along the path he had made.
After a few steps, he stopped. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down. But then something began to change. He felt disgusted. He felt uneasy and cold. He felt sick to his stomach when he realized how small the forces he had thought were invincible really were.
Lorian opened his eyes. His violet eyes glowed with a fear that came from the shadows of the past. He raised his hand and made a fist. He closed his eyes again and brought the hand to his chest.
He took a deep breath. He tried to silence the old whispers that echoed in his soul. But he heard something.
"Your destiny is beyond them. You are existence itself..."
Lorian opened his eyes. A mix of black and purple energy pulsed in his fist. This was the highest form of Esensia energy he could reach. This is the Cosmic Esensia Form.
Only the Old Master had ever used this form. Now, Lorian was about to release it.
But using this form came at a great cost. It was slowly tearing his soul apart, increasing the risk of losing control over the Echoes. The echoes of eternity and time grew stronger. They had an effect on him.
The Old Master had called this form the Cosmic Esensia Form. Lorian paused for a moment before opening his fist. He gathered the humans before him.
He wanted to destroy them.
When he opened his fist completely, he released time. At that moment, the Cosmic Esensia exploded.
The battlefield shattered. Thousands of people, echoes, spells, and traces of the past disappeared. Everything disappeared. Even the faintest echoes carried by the wind disappeared without a sound.
Lorian was very good at not feeling anything during the war. He killed thousands of people without feeling anything. With no feelings in his eyes, he looked at the area where his enemies had been standing. Then he turned and started walking.
He walked for a few minutes. Then he stopped. He gazed at the gray sky. The light wind ruffled his silver hair, and he spoke almost quietly.
"I kept my word and fought by your side in battle. I destroyed your enemies without leaving a trace, and now it's your turn to make a final decision."The mysterious man stayed in the dark shadows. He, too, felt the effects of the battle. He had not thought that Lorian could be so strong.
Everyone was silent. And that silence was the last echo to reverberate across the battlefield, for there was nothing left here to echo again.
Lorian was overwhelmed by darkness.
Lorian sat up in bed. His chest was rising and falling quickly. His body was covered in sweat, and his breathing was erratic. His hands were shaking. His arms were shaking, and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
This battlefield... The people he had destroyed. He remembered how he had destroyed them. But these memories weren't his. They didn't feel real. His mind was full of images that didn't belong to him. Those scenes, those feelings... They weren't his memories, but they felt real.
"What... what was that?" he said, his voice hoarse and shaky. He rubbed his face with his hands and closed his eyes, but the memories of the battlefield kept ringing in his head.
He got up, went to the window, and looked outside. It was still dark outside. The moon was in the sky, its pale light illuminating the darkness. He squeezed his chest and tried to breathe, but the memory of the dream was still haunting him.
"Memories?" he thought. "Memories that are not mine, but that I feel..."
Lorian took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Was this dream a message? Or is it a reminder of the past?
The old master... he whispered.
Lorian left the room that Elira and Kael had reserved for him. He was sweating and his hands and knees were shaking.
Everything he had seen in his dream was real. It felt like he had experienced those moments himself.
"I can think about that later." Right now, I'd better take a shower... Lorian thought, feeling tired. Lorian walked down the hall, past the sink, and stopped in front of the bathroom.
Elira and Kael had shown him the rooms before, so it wasn't difficult to find the bathroom.
Just as he was about to enter the bathroom, he heard a woman's voice: "Oh, Lorian, why are you up in the middle of the night? Has something happened?" It was Elira.
When Lorian saw Elira, he began to speak: "Oh, Elira... I must have had a nightmare. That's why I wanted to shower." Elira noticed that Lorian's hands and knees were shaking, and his breathing was uneven. She went to him and put her hand on his forehead.
Lorian was surprised when Elira suddenly put her hand on his forehead and blushed a little. Elira was neither very tall nor very short. Her graceful figure, long, wavy silver hair, and silver eyes made her even more impressive than before.
Lorian had never been attracted to a girl before, but he was attracted to Elira. This was also the first time he had ever been close to a girl.
Elira moved closer to him, her hand still on Lorian's forehead, and said, "Lorian, you are very hot. You might have a cold. Why don't you take a shower and I'll find you something to put on when you come out and get the fire going." Elira moved closer to Lorian without realizing it, and the closer Lorian got to her, the more she blushed.
Lorian quickly turned his face away and stammered, "E-Elira, you are so close..." Hearing this, Elira realized that she had moved closer to Lorian without realizing it and moved away from him as her face turned red. "S-sorry, I didn't realize!" Lorian shook his head, hid his face, and went into the bathroom.
When Lorian went into the bathroom, Elira turned and ran away. As Elira left, Lorian came out of the bathroom and looked after her. She's so beautiful... Lorian started thinking about Elira without realizing it, but as soon as he realized it, he shook his head from side to side and pushed his thoughts away. He went back into the bathroom to take a shower.
After the shower, Lorian put on the clothes Elira had prepared for him and went downstairs to the fireplace, where Elira was sitting in a chair in front of it, and sat down in the chair Elira had prepared for him.
They sat in silence in front of the fireplace for a while, and finally, Elira looked at Lorian and blushed slightly. Then she said, "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I didn't even realize that I was approaching you." At first, Lorian didn't understand what Elira meant. But as she kept talking, he remembered what had happened and blushed a little. Lorian immediately started to speak, saying, "No, it's okay, you don't need to apologize."
They sat in silence for a while, only the sound of flames and sparks in the fireplace broke the quiet.
Elira gathered her courage and spoke again, blushing slightly. "Hey Lorian, I didn't ask you before because you were in a very bad situation, but I can ask you now. Why did you drown? If someone had thrown you in the river, you would have been able to get out, unless the person who threw you in the river kept you underwater for a long time and made you unable to move, or you committed suicide. Can you tell me what happened?" Lorian looked at Elira, his shy and flushed expression gone, replaced by a serious one.
Lorian wanted to tell her what had happened and that he had come here from his world. But Elira would probably think he was crazy or joking and start laughing at him.
That's exactly what would happen... Lorian thought. Then he thought some more and started to speak: "I don't know what's going on, either, Elira. All I know is that when I opened my eyes, I was drowning. I tried to get to the top of the stream quickly, but the pain that enveloped my body only made it worse. I endured it and barely made it to the top, but I have no knowledge or memory of why I drowned. I only have memories of what I was doing right before I drowned. All my memories before that are gone. The only thing I know about myself now is my first and last name, and nothing else."
Elira listened closely to Lorian. He seemed confused, and as she watched him, she realized that he was deeply troubled. She could tell that Lorian was dealing with more than just an experience; it was a kind of loss.
After a moment of silence, she spoke. In his eyes, she saw traces of lost memories and the emptiness of his subconscious. Finally, a smile appeared on his face. "I think it's going to be a bit of a challenge, but... I need to talk to you more about this. Whatever it is, maybe we can find the right answer together."
Lorian looked at Elira, confused. "What do you mean?"
Elira smiled slightly. "It may be difficult to solve this alone. But maybe we can find it together. I want to know what happened to you before you drowned in the river. Maybe there are things you don't remember. Let's think and talk some more. Maybe the answer is in your lost memories."
Lorian closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. "That's an interesting idea."
Elira looked closely at Lorian and said, "Maybe looking at your past will help you understand yourself again. Sometimes, things you lost are just waiting for a clue," she said. "You might even find something that belongs to you again."
Lorian didn't say anything for a long time. Something changed in his eyes. "Maybe," he whispered, "one day I'll find something to remember."
He looked less worried, but he was still uncertain. Elira sent him a small smile. "Sometimes being a good friend just means listening," she said. "And here, I might have the solution to everything for you."
Lorian nodded, then looked at Elira again. "Thank you," he said, sincerely this time. "It's interesting to see someone trying to understand this for the first time."
"Maybe together, we'll find what was lost," Elira said, laughing.
At that moment, they felt a connection. They felt like they could rediscover the past and maybe find a lost path. The silence came again, but this time there was a sense of hope and connection between them. The sound of the flames in the fireplace made them feel like two people out of everything, just trusting each other.
Elira looked at Lorian with a slight smile, then stood up cheerfully and began to speak: "Very well then! The decision is made! From now on, you and I, Lorian, will make sure that you get your memories back!" Lorian jumped up, excited, and shouted "Yes!" Elira and Lorian then started giggling.
When they had finished laughing, Lorian stood in front of Elira and began to speak: "Thank you, Elira. I've always wondered what it would feel like to have someone think of me, and thanks to you, I've experienced that feeling." Elira was surprised, and then her face turned red.
Lorian lowered his head so she couldn't see his face and stammered, "As I said, from now on, you and I will work together to help you get your memories back. But first, let's get some sleep, shall we? I haven't slept a wink thinking about you."
Lorian laughed at what Elira said. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Elira." Hearing this, Elira stopped feeling embarrassed, looked at Lorian, and took his hands.
Lorian was surprised by Elira's sudden grasp of his hands and blushed slightly, but he did nothing. "Always," Elira replied with a slight smile.
Later, when she realized what she had done, she let go of Lorian's hands and turned around to hide her embarrassed, tomato-red face from him. "Anyway, help me put out the fire and let's go to bed, it's so late!" Lorian laughed and nodded at what Elira said and replied, "Okay." After Lorian helped Elira put out the fire, the two went to their own rooms.
When he got to his room, Lorian threw himself on the bed and thought about how Elira would react when she woke up. She's so cute when she's embarrassed... Lorian thought to himself, smiling.
For the first time that day, Lorian realized that he felt relaxed when he talked to someone. Finally, tired from the day, Lorian fell asleep with a smile on his face.